Energy magnate and cowboy memorabilia collector William Koch has resurrected his attempt to trade less than 1,000 acres of land he purchased in Dinosaur National Monument and the Currecanti National Recreation Area for about 1,800 acres of public lands around his ranch in Gunnison County.

The potential trade stirred up heated debate when former Congressman John Salazar introduced a bill to complete the swap. When Salazar lost his reelection bid, the swap seemingly faded away. Now, it is back, but it is being packaged in a new way. The initial swap attempt was criticized by some as being planned too quietly under the public radar even though there were some low-key public input sessions in Gunnison County. This time around, a public relations firm has been hired and has invited the media on tours to see up front what kinds of trailheads and other amenities the public will gain if the trade is approved. Presumably, that firm will highlight the fact that some Gunnison County officials and at least one conservation group support the swap and won’t bring up the old news that there was a leaked BLM document that spelled out the reservations of some government land specialists over the possible trade. Those BLM officials wrote that a valuable area with high energy development potential could be removed from the public domain if the trade were to go through.

Koch owns the Palm Beach, Fla-based Oxbow Group, which owns a coal mine down the road from Koch’s Bear Ranch at the base of Kebler Pass. Koch has also bought up a number of ranches in the Hotchkiss area where he is going to be doing exploratory drilling in anticipation of opening a new coal mine there. http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_18688804 He also has initiated a strong public relations campaign in that area extolling the benefit of energy jobs.

Nancy has been covering the diverse news of Western Colorado for three decades, since she migrated to the mountains from the plains of Nebraska. For the past 13 years, she has been a staff writer for The Denver Post, working from a bureau office in Grand Junction. In her spare time, she's been completing a Spanish Literature degree at Mesa State College in Grand Junction and continuing her quest to bike every pass in Colorado.